The field of the invention generally pertains to latch assemblies. More particularly, the invention relates to a latch assembly for releasably latching a truck bed cover to a pickup truck bed, wherein the actuation of an elongated latch member to a released position causes a blocking element to obstruct the now-released latch member from re-engaging a striker. In this manner the latch assembly operates to indefinitely maintain the elongated latch member in the released position until a time when the driver wishes to raise open the cover.
Pickup trucks are typically provided with an open top bed/cargo area bordered by left and right sidewalls, a front wall (or cab wall), and a tailgate adapted to swing open to allow convenient access to the cargo area. The open tops of pickup truck beds, however, are known to adversely affect the aerodynamic characteristics of the pickup truck at driving speeds. Thus, it is often preferred to provide a truck bed cover (or xe2x80x9ctonneau coverxe2x80x9d) which extends over and encloses the open bed to reduce drag and substantially improve the airflow dynamics of the pickup truck. Truck bed covers, especially those with rigid constructions, also help prevent unauthorized access and/or theft of items stored in the bed, as well as protect such stored items from exposure to harsh environmental elements. Furthermore, truck bed covers also serve to enhance the aesthetic and stylistic appearance of pickup trucks by streamlining the surfaces and contours of the pickup truck body.
With the growing popularity of truck bed covers as accessory items for pickup trucks, various devices and methods have been developed for releasably securing such truck bed covers to the open top beds of pickup trucks.
One typical approach is to utilize a latch device designed for manual release by a user. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,079,989, a pickup bed topper is shown with a latching mechanism 82 which operates to extend a pair of opposing arms 88 into a pair of slots located on each sidewall of the truck bed. The arms 88 are actuated by a handle 84 which is equipped with a conventional key operated lock. This arrangement, however, requires a driver to first exit the cab of the pickup truck and go to the latch itself in order to lock or unlock the pickup bed topper from the truck bed. More importantly, the driver must manually perform each latching and unlatching movement of the arms 88 himself, without having the convenience of an automatic engagement of the latch mechanism upon closing the topper relative to the truck bed.
Additionally, in U.S. Pat. No. 6,076,881, a flip hatch tonneau cover is shown having a latch mechanism 60 which must also be manually released by the user. Similar to the ""989 patent, the driver must first exit the cab of his pickup truck and open the tailgate 29 to gain access to the latch mechanism. Once accessed, a latch plate handle 62 must be manually pivoted to clear a latch pin 108 such that a rear frame 48 of the tonneau cover may be pivotally raised upward. It is particularly notable, however, that in order to raise the rear frame 48, the user himself must manually maintain the handle 62 clear of the latch pin 108.
And although not specifically directed to latching truck bed covers to pickup truck beds, a low-powered door alarm and lock system is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,081,186 utilizing a solenoid 46 (FIG. 4) to briefly move a pin 42 to a released position, such that a latch gate 44 may in turn release a striker 47. However, the operation of the solenoid and subsequent raising of the pin is only for a time period of less than 1 second, and the pin falls again due to gravity to re-lock the latch gate if not released within the prescribed time.
The approaches disclosed in these aforementioned representative patents, illustrate certain disadvantages which are present in the prior art. In the ""989 and ""881 patents in particular, the limitation and inconvenience of having to manually release the latch mechanism from outside the cab of the pickup truck can be clearly appreciated. Furthermore, the latch devices in the ""881 and ""186 patents do not enable their respective latching/engaging elements to be maintained in the released or clear position due to the operation of an automatic re-engagement mechanism, such as a biasing strut 70 in the ""881 patent, and the pin 42 in the ""186 patent which falls back into re-engagement due to gravity. Thus, a user cannot repeatedly open and close a truck bed cover, door, or access panel without having to re-release the latch each time. While automatic re-engagement mechanisms provide certain advantages to the operation of latch devices, the ability to maintain the release of the latching/engaging element would also provide a substantial advantage and convenience to the driver or user, especially when frequent and quick access into the truck bed cargo area is required.
It is thus an object of the present invention to provide a latch assembly for releasably latching a truck bed cover to the bed of a pickup truck, wherein the latch assembly may be maintained indefinitely in a released position, against the re-engagement tendencies of a re-engagement mechanism, until a time when a user desires to raise open the truck bed cover relative to the pickup truck.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a latch assembly for releasably latching two relatively movable bodies to each other, wherein the latch assembly may be maintained indefinitely in a released position, against the re-engagement tendencies of a re-engagement mechanism, until a time when a user desires to effect relative movement of the relatively movable bodies.
It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a latch assembly which utilizes a blocking element to prevent re-engagement of a released latching/engaging element to a striker, wherein the blocking element is caused to move to an obstructing position upon actuation of the latching/engaging element to the released position.
It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a latch assembly which utilizes a blocking element to prevent re-engagement of a released latching/engaging element to a striker, wherein the blocking element is caused to move to an obstructing and interposed position between the released latching/engaging element and the striker, upon actuation of the latching/engaging element to the released position.
It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a remotely operated latch assembly for releasably latching a truck bed cover to the bed of a pickup truck, wherein the latch assembly may be remotely released from within the cab portion of the pickup truck.
It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a remotely operated latch assembly utilizing a solenoid to effect the remote release of a latching/engaging element.
It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a simple and cost-effective latch assembly utilizing a minimum number of parts to effect the foregoing objects, and which is easily manufactured by conventional manufacturing methods.
The present invention is for a latch assembly for releasably latching a first body of a truck bed cover and a second body of a truck bed to each other. The first and second bodies are adapted to move between open and closed positions relative to each other. The latch assembly comprises a striker which is secured to one of the first and second bodies, and a latch member which is movably connected to the other of the first and second bodies. The latch assembly also comprises resiliently biasing means, such as a coil spring, for urging the latch member to achieve latched engagement with the striker when the first and second bodies are in the closed position. The latch assembly also comprises main actuator means, such as a solenoid assembly, which is operably connected to the latch member for actuating the latch member to a released position away from the striker. Furthermore, the latch assembly comprises stopper means, such as a pivot arm, for obstructing re-engagement of the released latch member with the striker. The stopper means has a blocking element which is caused to move from a non-obstructing position to an obstructing position upon the latch member being actuated to the released position by the main actuator means. In this manner, the released latch member is maintained in the released position by the stopper means to enable relative movement of the first and second bodies to the open position.